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“Have the lords gone through the papers we compiled based on the ones retrieved from Moonstone Castle?” Marco asked as his eyes fell onto Draco.

He smiled before replying; “Aye, my lord. The only three that seem to oppose your decision are Reinbolt-”

“Ha! No surprise there,” Marco scoffed; “How many letters has he tried to send to Sai?”

“Over twenty since they left. Almost as much as your Aunt. What will you do with her?” Draco asked.

Marco shrugged; “She’s rather inconsequential, for now. All of her bridges burned when she tried to stand by her husband. Besides, I’ve already warned her not to do anything stupid. And she knows that I’m serious about my threats. Until I recall my brother home, she can have her freedom..”

Marco clasped his hands; “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. The other two lords.”

Draco nodded; “That would be Lords Lewis and Ferguson, My King. Lewis has a good seventy percent of his export business dependent upon Moonstone’s trade deals. Lord Ferguson grew up with Moonstone, and owes the majority of his contract deals to his childhood friend..”

“I don’t think it’s so much loyalty, as the preservation of their livelihoods. Which means they can be swayed, if need be.”

.....

Marco smirked; “No, don’t pander to them. They should’ve realized that their bond couldn’t sustain them when the other party makes an enemy of a King.”

Draco swallowed slightly, not wanting to repeat the words they’d said to his master and king. But knew that Marco had already noticed his hesitation, and there was no getting around it now..

“To be honest, My King...They tried to dispute your claim-”

“Openly?!” Marco practically hollered, his anger plain.

Draco didn’t flinch; “They weren’t stupid enough to outright say it, but they did say that they wouldn’t accept any rulings on Lord Moonstone’s innocence, until Prince Tidas and Princess Skye returned. They left after the meeting, and said that they awaited word of a proper trial.”

Marco took a deep breath; “Is a King’s word not law?”

“Aye, Your Majesty,” came a unanimous choir from his guards.

“Then, if I present proof of his illegal dealings with the Fae Nation: shouldn’t they automatically believe me? Even if the evidence is skewed?”

“Aye, Your Majesty.”

“...Stein,” Marco’s eyes were empty as he gave his orders; “After my announcement, send a detachment to stomp them out. All of them: even their grandchildren. It can serve as a warning, on top of ridding myself of a later annoyance.”

As Stein nodded his understanding, Norvis changed the subject by asking; “Would you like anything special done for the ceremony?”

“What do you mean?” Marco inquired in a now-placid tone.

“I mean, I’m rigging up the monitoring equipment already. Why not broadcast his trial on top of it?”

Marco smiled slightly; “I like where your head is, but the trial is tomorrow. And I don’t want to give his allies any time to rally and plan. I will officially announce my Father’s death, with Lawrence at my side the following day. Then, I will execute Lucas Moonstone for being a traitor, and having a hand in my Father’s death..”

“Ooo!” Benzo exclaimed happily; “How ya gonna do that?”

Stein perked up; “Let’s just say that the mystery poison had to come from somewhere.. Who better to supply Prince Tidas with an exotic poison than his own Father-In-Law? With his reputation for far-reaching hands, and access to the world market: who else But Lord Moonstone, could acquire such a rare, and costly poison?”

“But the King wasn’t actually poisoned to death,” Sheri stated.

“Technically, he was, just by magic,” Stein replied with obvious annoyance in his voice.

Marco looked at Sheri like a snake sizing up it’s prey; “Does the knowledge that I killed my Father bother you?”

Sheri shrugged; “No, but holes in stories greatly bother me.”

Marco smirked; “I can assure you that my plan leaves little open to debate.. Humans are so simple. As long as the story you tell them is good enough to keep them interested, then they’ll believe whatever you want..”

“A person from every profession, standing behind me. Telling everyone that what I say is fact. Very few will dispute me, and the ones that do, will find themselves ostracized from my new society.”

All of the guards in the room nodded along with their King, even Sheri. She didn’t agree with Marco, but found it impossible to disagree. The others had genuine feelings of loyalty for him, but Sheri’s were fostered from fear, so it wasn’t real devotion.

Marco was aware of her growing resentment and hostility towards him, but he wasn’t worried about it.. ‘If she betrays me, then she dies. It’s that simple, so there’s no reason to worry..’

Once Marco had finished explaining his ‘new world vision’, they discussed the logistics of Lucas’ trial. The evidence against him, the paid-for witnesses, even the trade logs he had kept from when it was illegal to trade with the Highlanders; it would all be used against him tomorrow..

Doctor Stein was listening intently when he suddenly straightened up, and started to yell; “He’s home! He’s home! My single survivor is back!”

“Calm yourself, Stein,” Marco ordered with a flip of his wrist; “If the soldier has returned, then run along to your lab, and start his examination. I will be along shortly. I just want to make sure everyone else knows what their next tasks are.”

Stein nodded enthusiastically before rushing out the throne room. Benzo and Draco were exchanging exhausted looks between themselves, while Norvis said; “That guy really is a creepy bastard..”

“Yes,” Marco replied; “But he’s a brilliant creepy bastard. And loyal to a fault, so leave him be..”

“Now,” Marco clapped his hands; “Do you all remember your assignments?”

Draco spoke first; “I’m responsible for making sure that over half the lords vote guilty tomorrow-”

Benzo cut in; “I’m gonna go organize the military for tomorrow and the announcement. First time I get to flex my authority.”

Marco nodded, then turned to Sheri; “And you?”

“I’m to help King Lawrence write to his Senate, then I need to go over security with Benzo and Draco.”

Good lass,” he replied with a grin; “Make sure that my brother uses his usual mannerisms. Do you have those letters he wrote to my Father?”

Sheri nodded; “Aye, My King. Right here in my armor.”

“Good,” Marco got up from the throne; “I think it’s time to notify the other kingdoms. Send out the ravens now. They should reach their destinations shortly after I announce it to my kingdom..”

Marco looked at each of them in turn; “Make sure the Tamers know that their Companions can’t arrive before dusk, understand?”

“Aye, Your Majesty,” came the unanimous reply.

Invitations disguised as news of Magnus’ death had been sent out shortly after they had concluded the meeting, thanks to Benzo. Each guard had a separate job to do, and Sheri’s left a foul taste in her mouth. As she headed towards the door, she motioned to Lawrence as she said;”Come along, Puppet King. You’ve got a letter to write..”

Marco grinned as the two left, and the door latched him.. ‘Puppet King: I like it.. It suits my brother well..’

He watched as his guards dispersed, leaving him standing in the hallway with his thoughts. Heading straight to Doctor Stein’s lab popped into his mind for a moment, but he decided to make a pit stop at his Aunt’s quarters first.. ‘I think I’ll have her in the background at my coronation. Like a potted plant put out for display..’

The thought brought a smile to his face as he walked down the nearly barren halls. The servants tended to avoid their king as much as possible, to stay off his radar. It made moving about the palace a bit easier, which was good in this instance.. ‘I don’t want Marie’s panic to cause a scene..’

As the thought crossed his mind, Marco knocked, then entered his aunt’s quarters. It was set up similarly to the rest of the rooms, and he could see her standing in front of her bedroom doorway. The look of sadness and annoyance that simultaneously covered her features made a dark smile touch his lips before he began with the basic pleasantries.

Marie glared at him; “What do you want, Nephew? Regardless of being confined to my rooms, I’m quite busy.”

Marco maintained his creepy demeanor; “Don’t be like that, Aunt Marie. Someone poisoned my Father, so I wanted you safe-”

“Cut the bullshit, laddie,” Marie huffed; “You didn’t track me down and lock me away for any benefit to me. Now what is going on? Who killed Magnus?”

Marco’s grin stretched; “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Auntie? It was me.”

Marie stared at Marco for a long minute before she ran over to her table, and threw her book at him. Followed by her lamp, jewelry box, and a few other heavier items before Marco suddenly stopped her by using his Tank trait. It scared Marie to the point of making her fall over, but Marco was unphased by her terrified response.

If anything: he liked the fear in her eyes.

Marie felt her heart hammering away within her chest as she asked; “Are you going to kill me next?”

Marco’s expression faultered for a moment before he cackled, then said; “I must admit, Auntie. I have always been entertained by your quick wit.. I’m not going to kill you. At least, not yet. But that depends on how cooperative you can be..”

“Lawrence will stand at my side for my announcement of Father’s death. I want you there as well.”

Marie stared at him for a few moments, like she was studying him. Her eyes lit up a second later, then narrowed on him as she replied; “I’ll never stand with you against your brother.”

Marco sighed; “Always siding with your favorite.. Too bad, Auntie. I’ll miss the banter..”

Before Marie could reply, Marco reached out, and touched her forehead with an extended finger. Her eyes glazed over as his Dark and Ether magic invaded her mind, and turned her memories against her. Within seconds, Marie was trapped within her own head.

“There we are! Now, I can have you there without worry,” Marco stated with a smug tone.

Suddenly, Marco clasped his hands together; “I know! I’ll have you testify against Tidas! That will Really hurt him!”

As Marco was about to explain, he felt his hold on his aunt’s mind waver. He didn’t know why his hold wasn’t as strong, but he wasn’t about to let his control over her slip..

“I guess you’ll have to be even more muted than Lawrence. Who knew your willpower was so strong. In fact, I don’t think I can have you up on stage..”

Marco leaned in to whisper in her ear; “Watching Lucas Moonstone being executed might bring back bad memories.. Like when the lords wanted you executed. Claiming that you were in cahoots with Uncle Richard. Do you know who told them that?”

Seeing her eyes moisten from unshed tears, Marco stretched his smile to it’s limit; “I did! Of course, this is after I had convinced him to go get me the Ethereal Spear. Never thought that he’d be bold enough to try and kill me..”

As tears started to stream down from her eyes, Marco added; “But I suppose having my favorite puppet, your favorite Nephew, kill him for me was good enough to be considered revenge.”